Please help! Coolant leak after thermostat change!

[hardmonkeys]

Fair enough. Mine was probably a coincidence then

[mcgee9t2]

Check the oring is in properly and giving the Tstat housing a proper seal.

[Gti5382]

Re lower stat housing bolt, I found it easier to use 5mm allen in centre of bolt rather than 10mm socket on outside given how snug it is there. Used L shaped allen key for 90% of turns then finished off with allen socket on quarter inch extender/ratchet. Dont forget block is ali and housing plastic! Good luck.

[AntMk3GTi]

Yeh thanks for the advice, I'll try the Allen key and get a good grip on it to try and tighten the bolt a bit more.
I used a 10mm socket on a long extension, the scket was conencted to one of those swivel joints. It was difficult to get a good grip on the bolt but when I could, i could use the ratchet with a lot of space.
The allen key will have a better connection to the bolt, if I can get enough space to give it a good turn and tighten.
You say the block is ali and the housing is plastic, is this something I need to take into account when tightening? sorry not sure what you meant about that. Could I damage the block or something?
cheers

[Wazzzer]

you can crack the housing if you over tighten it

[Chambo]

Are you sure the old O ring has come out of the recess,you could have 2 O rings In there causing it to leak.

[AntMk3GTi]

Yeh the old O ring definitely came out, I compared it with the new one to make sure they were the same. then I definitely put the new one in.

After checking this morning though, the leak seems that have slowed down. I drove home after work yesterday (about 30 mins) and only had to top up about 1/4 of a litre, then drove in this morning (over an hour i rush hour traffic) and no coolant warning light.
I'll check later to see how much coolant I lost, but it's strange that the leak has slowed, because before after driving off, the warning light would come on after about 10 mins.

[Wazzzer]

Water seals can stop leaking over a little bit of time, I'd still be wanting to find the problem though, you don't want it suddenly dumping all the coolant out when you're out on a long drive

[AntMk3GTi]

Yeh suer i'll be looking for the cause of leak.
I'm going to check the bolts tomorrow, being careful not to over-tighten or crack the housing (if it hasn't already).
I wont buy a load of coolant until I'm sure the leak has stopped. Is it easy to find the coolant drain tap? Is it at the bottom of the radiator?

[Wazzzer]

passenger side of the rad down the bottom